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HOCKEY; Two Teams Left to Fight For Amonte

Both the Rangers and the Islanders, in the words of one National Hockey League official, have taken a wait-and-see approach in their pursuit of wing Tony Amonte, the last remaining upper-tier free agent this summer.

Amonte, 31, a longtime Chicago star, is seeking a four- or five-year deal worth about $7 million a season. Several officials said that both the Rangers and the Islanders would prefer to sign Amonte to a two-year deal at less than $6 million a season.

An Islanders spokesman denied a report in The New York Times yesterday that the team had asked center Aleksei Yashin to defer some of the $7,588,290 he is due to make this season to help sign Amonte. Yashin's agent, Mark Gandler, is in Europe, but Gandler's partner, Todd Diamond, also denied that the Islanders had asked Yashin to defer money. Diamond would not comment on whether Yashin would be open to the suggestion.

Last week, the Dallas Stars asked wing Bill Guerin to defer $4.5 million in lieu of a signing bonus for the same purpose. Guerin, who signed with Dallas last Wednesday, agreed. But yesterday, after the Stars held a news conference introducing their three main free-agent signings this summer -- Guerin, wing Scott Young and defenseman Phillippe Boucher -- General Manager Doug Armstrong said the team was no longer pursuing Amonte.

''We decided to sign Bill Guerin and Scott Young and move forward,'' Armstrong said by telephone.

Amonte has reportedly spurned a five-year offer for $32.5 million from Toronto. Other than the Rangers and the Islanders, no other teams seem to be in the running for him. Both New York teams feel they would probably have to make a trade to free salary to afford Amonte.

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The Rangers are reportedly shopping center Petr Nedved and are interested in Calgary defenseman Derek Morris and Phoenix wing Shane Doan. The Islanders, a league official said, have considered offering wing Brad Isbister for Morris.

In the meantime, the Rangers announced the signing of the journeyman wing Ted Donato yesterday, while the Devils announced the signing of goaltender Corey Schwab to back up Martin Brodeur.